Starfire: Return to Tamaran

Scene 2: The Day Everything Changed

Eight months ago. . .

Oracle's information had proven accurate, just like it normally did. There was just a lone armed robber with a gun, which he was using to keep the store owner he had mugged at bay. Now he was moving into the alley, where he was going to make his escape. Or at least, he could try to.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be," the robber said to himself once he thought he was alone. He was breathing heavily from how much he had just run down the alley. However, he looked pleased with what he had just done. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to hold onto his prize for much longer.

"The trick isn't committing the the crime," said Nightwing, jumping from his hiding place and startling the man. "The real trick is getting away with it and not making a scene on your way out."

"Who are you?" the robber demanded, pulling out a gun.

Instead of answering, Nightwing threw one of his custom-made birdarangs, which knocked the gun of the man's hand. Despite how much he had been fumbling with the trigger, Nightwing had had a lot of experience fighting criminals. He had been taught by the best back in Gotham.

The man began to run, only to be blinded by one of Nightwing's smoke discs. When the man turned around, Nightwing was face-to-face with him. Firghtened, the robber backed into a wall, where he slumped down on. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"I know you. You were on the Gotham news. What are you doing here in Jump City?"

There were many reasons why Nightwing had now set up shop here with Oracle. Not that he was going to divulge to some criminal. It would be completely impractical to talk about the past to anyone, let alone people who committed crimes.

"All you need to know is that I know Gotham isn't the only place has people like you in it. Since the Dark Knight has things covered there, I figured it would make sense for me to set up shop here."

With no further conversation on his mind, Nightwing launched a grappling hook around the robber, who had no time to escape from the rope that had just bound his arms. All he could do was watch as Nightwing took the bag of money he had taken and return it to the mugged store owner.

***

"Sounds like you had another success."

Oracle was talking to Nightwing, who was now out of costume and making his way through the streets of Jump City as Dick Grayson. By now, the police had found the robber and had taken him into custody. Soon, word would spread that there was a new crime fighter in Jump City.

"Wasn't too hard," he admitted to Oracle on his ear piece.

"Well, now that you're done there," Oracle was now saying, "why don't you return to base? We have a lot to talk about if you want to make Project Titan a success. You remember what Wayne said to us before we left Gotham, don't you?"

Dick understood completely what she was talking about. Project Titan had been Wayne's idea. While Dick was hoping to move away from Gotham, the plan his mentor had offered was sound enough.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and Dick nearly lost his balance. Something was happening downtown, but he had a feeling it wasn't an earthquake. "Oracle, there's something happening downtown. I'll keep you posted."

And not knowing what he was plunging himself into, Dick made his way downtown to see what had just happened.

***

Dick knew he had found where all the commotion was because of an obvious indicator: there was a large crowd gathering around a specific spot in the middle of the road. Some of the citizens had left their cars to see what all the fuss was about.

"What happened?" Dick asked someone in the back, who replied quickly, "We're not sure, but it looks like a girl just fell off a building.

A girl falling off the building? That was terrible. Like it or not, though, Dick knew stuff like that was not unheard of. People had committed suicide by jumping from high heights, such as a bridge or a building. Dick wasn't sure he wanted to get any closer until he heard a voice calling out, "She's waking up."

That got his attention. The person could simply be raving under pressure of what had just happened. However, Dick could tell this was no joke. Had the girl survived? He had to get closer. All the while, he heard more people talk in astonishment.

"She should be dead. I wonder what building she fell from. She left quite a crater."

"Wait, she's opening her eyes."

For some reason, Dick had a feeling this girl hadn't fallen from a building, though he couldn't explain why he was thinking that. If she was opening her eyes, he had to see what state she was in. If she was alive, she had to be really hurt.

"Everyone, give her some space," Dick said when he finally made it to the crater. "If she's not dying, she'll need air."

Dick looked down to see how badly injured the girl was, only to realize that there wasn't a scratch on her. In fact, she didn't seem like anything had hurt her at all.

As Dick leaned forward to help her up, he took in the girl's appearance. Her hair was fiery red, and her skin was yellowish orange tan. The clothes she was wearing were looked like a purple one piece bathing suit that still showed much of her midriff. When she opened her eyes, they were bright green, like a pair of emeralds.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked her when she focused on him. "If you can hear me, tell me who you are. What happened to you?"

The girl had just fallen from who knew where, and she was alive. Dick had been with Wayne back in Gotham long enough to know what this must mean. The girl had to have some kind of power to have survived such a fall.

Dick waited for the girl to answer, but she seemed scared. Dick had to admit he couldn't blame her. It wasn't every day you fell from a high height, lived to tell about it, and wake up in the arms of a stranger. He wasn't sure what was even going through her mind.

Dick could feel the girl start to feel less heavy in his arms and knew she was getting some feeling back into her body. However, he hadn't counted on how fast she was recovering, because before he had realized what had happened, the girl had leaned close to him and kissed him full on the lips.

The world seemed to have slowed down. Why was this girl kissing him? She didn't even know him. Dick wasn't sure what surprised him more: the kiss, or the fact that he hadn't even dropped the girl.

Before he could make up his mind, the girl broke the kiss and whispered in his ear, "Whatever else you do, do not follow me. Remain here in peace."

That was when she got to her feet and started to run from the crowd. Dick had a harder time following her, because there were too many people watching the girl run.

Finally, he made it through the crowd saw the girl running and called after her, "Wait, stop! Who are you? Where did you fall from?" She had to be an alien. It was the only explanation for why she hadn't died. If that were the case, she would be in trouble on her own.

Suddenly, Dick saw a truck driving down the street. "Look out! Watch out for that truck!" he called just as the truck tried to brake, but not in time to stop itself from hitting the girl. The people gathered were awed.

"She survived that hit."

"She doesn't even look hurt."

This time, Dick wasn't surprised to see that she wasn't hurt by the impact of the car any more than she had been moments ago. What he was surprised about was that as soon as she got to her feet, she took off and flew into the sky.

Stunned by what he had seen, Dick was surprised that he could think enough to call back Oracle and inform her, "I found our first recruit for Project Titan."